Snow guard

ABSTRACT

A snow guard including a resilient body with a slot for receiving a portion of a standing seam of a metal roof. The resilient body has a pair of apertures on opposite sides of the slot into which can be inserted the jaws of a tool for manipulating the resilient body to selectively widen the slot to facilitate the installation of the snow guard upon the standing seam of a metal roof. The resilient body also has a number of teeth projecting into the slot adjacent each of the apertures for gripping the standing seam of a metal roof positioned within the slot. A pair of wings extends outwardly from the resilient body for impeding the downward movement of snow and ice on a roof.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to static structures and, moreparticularly, to covers with projecting restrainers, e.g., snow stops.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Snow and ice have a tendency to slide from sloping roofs. While it isdesirable for a roof to shed frozen precipitation, a sheet of fallingice can pull a gutter from its moorings and cause bodily injury topassersby. In an effort to resolve these problems, snow guards have beendeveloped to prevent large blocks of snow and ice from sliding rapidlyfrom roofs and putting excessive weight upon gutters and downspouts.

Snow guards employed with metal roofs have traditionally employed setscrews driven against the roofs' standing seams to anchor them in place.While effective, these snow guards are relatively costly to manufactureand time-consuming to install. Further, set screws have tendency todamage the roofs that they engage and may, in some cases, lead to roofleaks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the problems associated with known snow guards, particularlythose used with metal roofs, it is a principal object of the inventionto a provided snow guard that can be attached to a standing seam withoutresort to set screws or other threaded fasteners and is not injurious tometal roofs.

It is another object of the invention to provide a snow guard of thetype described that can be securely fastened to the standing seam of ametal roof in a matter of seconds. If placement is not made perfectlythe first time, the snow guard can be easily repositioned.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a snow guard that isintuitive to use and that can be installed by unskilled laborers afteronly a few minutes of instruction.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof in a snow guard for the purposes described that islightweight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependablein use.

Briefly, the snow guard in accordance with this invention achieves theintended objects by featuring a resilient body with a pair of wingsextending outwardly therefrom. The resilient body includes a pair ofrectangular plates positioned side-by-side so as to define a slot. Eachof the plates has an aperture for receiving the jaws of the tool capableof spreading the plates apart. A number of teeth are positioned adjacenteach aperture for engaging the standing seam of a metal roof. Each ofthe teeth projects into the slot and toward one end of the body. Acrosspiece connects the tops of the plates. Each of the wings is securedto a respective one of the plates at the end thereof away from which theteeth project.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become readily apparent upon further review of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment asillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be more readily described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snow guard in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the snow guard of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the snow guard with portions broken away toreveal details thereof.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a snow guard assembly mounted upon thestanding seam of a metal roof with portions of the assembly and roofbeing broken away.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the snow guard being pulled open by a hand toolin preparation for mounting.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the blank used to form the snow guard.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the FIGS., a snow guard in accordance with the presentinvention is shown at 10. Snow guard 10 includes a resilient body 12having a slot 14 for receiving a portion of a standing seam 16 of ametal roof 18. A pair of apertures 20 is provided in body 12 formanipulating body 12 to selectively widen slot 14 to facilitate theinstallation of snow guard 10 upon standing seam 16. A number of teeth22 project inwardly from body 12 into slot 14 to firmly grip standingseam 16. A pair of wings 24 extends outwardly from body 12 to impede thedownward movement of snow on roof 18.

Body 12 includes a pair of rectangular plates 26 that are positionedside-by-side. Plates 26 have a height that is somewhat greater than thatof seam 16. The width of plates 26 is about one and one half times theirheight. Plates 26 have a thickness of about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm).

One aperture 20 penetrates the bottom of each plate 26. Each aperture 20is configured to easily receive one of the jaws 28 of a hand tool 30that is capable of pulling plates 26 away from one another. Thus, theportion of each plate 26 defining the bottom of each aperture 20projects outwardly so as to define a protruding lip 32 that permits thesmooth insertion and withdrawal of one of jaws 28. Further, eachaperture 20 is elongated to permit an even distribution of force to beapplied to plates 26 by tool 30.

Each plate 26 is provided with a plurality of teeth 22. Teeth 22 arepositioned above aperture 20 to engage seam 16 immediately below itsrelatively stiff apex. Teeth 22 extend in a spaced-apart manner from oneend of the plate 26 to the other to ensure a strong grip upon seam 16.

Teeth 22 are triangular in outline. Each tooth 22 has a wide base thatfalls within a plane that is substantially parallel to wings 24 and thatmeasures about ⅛ inch (3 mm) across. From its base, each tooth 22 tapersin width to a pointed tip that projects away from wings 24 and alsoabout ⅛ inch (3 mm) into slot 14. Due to the relatively great thicknessof teeth 22, they are neither easily deformed nor do they give up theirgrip upon seam 16 without difficulty. Thus, it is very hard to dislodgesnow guard 10 from seam 16 without employing tool 30.

An opening 34 is positioned adjacent to each tooth 22. Each opening 34is triangular in outline, being substantially a mirror image of theadjacent tooth 22. Openings 34 enhance the flow of air through slot 14to aid, albeit in a limited manner, in the cooling roof 18.

Plates 26 are connected together at their tops by a crosspiece 36 so asto provide body 12 with a cross section resembling an inverted “U”.Crosspiece 36 is provided with a pair of spaced-apart holes 38respectively positioned at its opposite ends. Threaded fasteners (notshown) can be passed through holes 38 for the attachment of asnow-retaining rail 40 to snow guard 10.

An alternative arrangement for securing rail 40 to snow guard 10 isshown in FIG. 5. Here, a clip 42 is employed rather than threadedfasteners. Clip 42 includes a pair of arms 44 connected at their tops bya crosspiece 46 in the manner of an inverted “U”. A finger 48 projectsinwardly from the bottom of each arm 44 and is adapted for snuginsertion into an aperture 20. When fingers 48 are positioned withinapertures 20, the tops of arms 44 extend above crosspiece 36 of snowguard 10. Transverse bores 50 in the tops of arms 44 snugly receive rail40 so that rail 40 is rigidly secured to snow guard 10.

One wing 24 extends outwardly at right angles from the front end of eachof plates 26. Wings 24 are substantially square in outline, having thesame height as that of plates 26 and having about the same width astheir height. The surface area provided to wings 24 is believed to beadequate to prevent large masses of snow and ice, capable of causinggreat bodily injury, from sliding off roof 18.

The outer end of each wing 24 has a pair of bores 52. As shown, bores 52and are positioned one above the other and have approximately the samediameter as that of holes 38. Bores 52 are provided for the attachmentof signs, antennas and lightening rods (none shown) to roof 18.

Snow guard 10 is formed by cutting and folding portions of a planarblank 54 that is a single piece of heavy gauge spring steel. First,apertures 20, holes 38 and bores 52 are made by cutting such at suitablelocations in blank 54. Next, teeth 22 are made by cutting a plurality ofV-shaped notches 56 in blank 54 and, then, folding the material withinnotches 56 downwardly along the fold lines 58 positioned across thefront ends of notches 56. (It is the voids left within notches 56 by theproduction of teeth 22 that form openings 34.) Later, lips and 32 aremade by folding the portions of blank 54 bounded by apertures 20 andfold lines 60 slightly upward. Now, body 12 is given its invertedU-shape by making a right angle bends along fold lines 62 on oppositesides of holes 38. Finally, outstretched wings 24 are provided to snowguard 10 by pulling the material separated from plates 26 by fold lines64 outwardly. The resulting snow guard 10 is ready to use althoughpowder coating is recommended to prolong its useful life.

The use of snow guard 10 is straightforward. First, the jaws 28 of tool30 are inserted into apertures 20 on opposite sides of body 12. Next,the handles 66 of tool 30 are squeezed together, spreading jaws 28 andtemporarily spreading plates 26 from one another. This action takes slot14 from its normal, narrow, seam-clamping width illustrated by the solidline position shown most clearly in FIG. 4 to a wide, seam-releasingwidth shown in FIG. 6. Snow guard 10 can now be easily positioned uponstanding seam 16 with wings 24 on the uphill side. When the pressure onthe handles 66 is released, body 12 springs back to its seam-clampingconfiguration. By withdrawing jaws 28 from apertures 20, installation ofsnow guard 10 upon standing seam 16 is completed.

Snow guard 10 can be enhanced with the addition of snow-retaining rail40 and attachment clip 42. To do this, arms 44 are first spread awayfrom one by the application of a prying force from jaws 28 of tool 30.Next, fingers 48 are positioned within apertures 20 of the seam-mountedsnow guard 10 and tool 30 is disengaged from clip 42. Finally, rail 40is extended through transverse bores 50 in the top of clip 42 andthrough the clips 42 secured to adjacent snow guards 10 on roof 18. Theresulting snow guard assembly is capable of supporting very heavy loadsof snow and ice without damage to roof 18.

While snow guard 10 has been described with a high degree ofparticularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatmodifications can be made to it. Therefore, it is to be understood thatthe present invention is not limited strictly to snow guard 10 describedabove, but encompasses any and all embodiments of a snow guard withinthe scope of the following claims.

1. A snow guard, comprising: a resilient body having a slot forreceiving a portion of a standing seam of a metal roof, said resilientbody also having a pair of apertures on opposite sides of said slot intowhich can be inserted the jaws of a tool for manipulating said resilientbody to selectively widen said slot to facilitate the installation ofsaid snow guard upon the standing seam of a metal roof, said resilientbody further having a plurality of teeth projecting into said slotadjacent each of said apertures for gripping the standing seam of ametal roof positioned within said slot; and, a pair of wings extendingoutwardly from said resilient body for impeding the downward movement ofmatter on a roof.
 2. The snow guard according to claim 1 wherein saidresilient body and said wings are integrally formed from a single sheetof spring steel.
 3. The snow guard according to claim 1 wherein saidresilient body further includes a protruding lip beneath each of saidapertures for guiding the jaws of a tool into said apertures.
 4. A snowguard, comprising: a resilient body including: a pair of rectangularplates being positioned side-by-side so as to define a slottherebetween, each of said plates having: an aperture therein forreceiving the jaws of the tool capable of spreading said plates awayfrom one another; opposed ends; and, a plurality of teeth beingpositioned adjacent said aperture for engaging the standing seam of ametal roof, each of said teeth projecting into said slot and toward oneof said opposed ends; a crosspiece connecting the tops of saidrectangular plates; and, a pair of wings extending outwardly from saidresilient body, each of said wings being secured to a respective one ofsaid rectangular plates at the end thereof away from which said teethproject.
 5. A snow guard assembly, comprising: a snow guard including: aresilient body having a slot for receiving a portion of a standing seamof a metal roof, said resilient body also having a pair of apertures onopposite sides of said slot into which can be inserted the jaws of atool for manipulating said resilient body to selectively widen said slotto facilitate the installation of said snow guard upon the standing seamof a metal roof, said resilient body further having a plurality of teethprojecting into said slot adjacent each of said apertures for grippingthe standing seam of a metal roof positioned within said slot; and, apair of wings extending outwardly from said resilient body for impedingthe downward movement of matter on a roof; and, a clip releasablyfastened to said snow guard, said clip including: a pair of armspositioned on opposite sides of said resilient body, each of said armshaving a transverse bore in the top thereof; a crosspiece connecting thetops of said arms together; a finger projecting from the bottom of eachof said arms into a respective one of said apertures in said resilientbody; and, a snow-retaining rail slidably extending through saidtransverse bore in each of said arms of said clip.